The Kirkland effect
by Iroyuki
Summary: After the disappearance of his best friend, Arthur Kirkland has a strange encounter that puts him in a strange predicament. (Featuring 2ps and horror)
1. Chapter 1

Hello. My name is Arthur, Arthur Kirkland, and I am in a strange situation. You see I'm stuck between reality and fiction at the moment. Ah, maybe I should explain what I mean. Where should I start? Oh I know.

I was in middle school when I met him.

I guess I should start by introducing my old friend first though. His name was Alfred F. Jones. He was a very spirited person with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

He was rather annoying sometimes but he was one of the few people who put up with my own bratty attitude. I knew him since the fourth grade and we were friends up until the seventh.

We shared countless conversations and even had a few sleep overs. His mother was a sweet woman, and I can remember she always smelled of chocolate. His father was rather quiet but he was a nice man as well. That's why when I heard the news, i was rather surprised.

Looking back, I was an idiot for not noticing it then. Around October of our 7th grade year, Alfred became rather fidgety. He was naturally a very loud and active kid so I passed it off as puberty making him act funny. When we walked, he seemed to always look straight. Usually he was dragging me around to look at every possible thing in sight, but not any longer. His smiles also appeared forced. I never did ask him what was bothering him.

It wasn't until February came that he hit a hard depression. It took me by surprise. One day he was laughing and had the stars in his eyes. The next day he wouldn't look up at all and his eyes no longer held the joy they used too. I tried to talk to him but they only thing he told me was "Arthur. They keep banging on the mirror. I have to go." He left home and I was left confused. What the bloody hell was he talking about? I had no idea. But what surprised me most was that he called me 'Arthur' when he always called me 'iggy' or some other weird name.

The next day, he was reported missing. His mother was found dead from a brutal murder and his father was accused. He was taken into prison. After a month, it was concluded Alfred ran away after his mother's death and he was possibly dead somewhere.

I went to his mother's funeral but I never saw Alfred again. Not to worry though, I'm sure I'm going to be seeing him soon though.

Now about the other guy. I was in the 8th grade when I bumped into another teen while going home. He looked to be my age and because I am me, I yelled out, "watch where you're going. Bloody hell!" That was when he turned to me. He was dark skinned and had an auburn hair color. His magenta eyes looked at me ready to kill. His white shirt was stained with what looked like dirt and blood, same with his jeans. He had a bomber jacket on though. The very same one that Alfred usually wore.

He gave me a smirk as his head was titled back to look at me. He adjusted the baseball bat that was resting on his shoulder that I didn't notice before. It was then that I noticed that it was dripping blood from the nails that stuck out if it. I was sure now that the blood on his clothes were not his and that mine would be on it next. Instead, however, he turned and kept walking.

I went home that night scared. I slept on the floor of my brother's room. I had the feeling he would come to my house suddenly and beat me to death so I snuck into Allistor's room. I felt safer there, after all, he was a tall 19 year old who took crap from nobody.

I'll admit that even today, I feel a sense of safety by my brother Allistor, though he does scare me.

The following morning I woke up to whistling. I woke up to find Allistor had gone to work, since he was the one who took care of my two brothers and I.

The whistling continued and I soon recognized the tune was the song 'easy living'. Who was whistling that?

I looked around and found my two brothers not in the house. I followed the whistling into the kitchen. When I walked in, the whistling stopped and the first thing I found was a single cupcake, with pink frosting and blue sprinkles. I inspected it curiously before placing it back down and getting ready for school. I figured it was maybe one of my brother's from Valentine's day and left it there. Had I known who really left it there I would have ended everything right there.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up to light tapping. I thought it may have been just my mind but as I looked in the mirror the tapping continued.

I moved it and put it back not sure what was causing the tapping sound. I got curious and reached over. With my index finger I tapped lightly on my full view mirror. Then it happened... My reflection smiled at me. It was brief and almost went unseen but I saw it. I quickly ran into my brother's room and jumped on him scared out of my mind. He yelled at me and I tried to explain but he just threw me out of his room. I snuck into my other brother's room and sat beside his bed until he woke up and sent me out.

I went to school that day trying my best to forget it even happened. As I was walking down the hall however, a student caught my eye. A tall blonde wearing a red flannel, blue jeans and sunglasses. I supposed he was just one of the cool kids and walked right by him. He watched me as I passed and I noticed he had a hockey stick in his hand. It wasn't until I was in class that it hit me. If he was a cool kid, how did he go unnoticed? Everyone knew the cool kids right? Perhaps just a loser trying to be cool.

I went home that night and fell asleep exhausted. But again I woke up to light tapping. This time I didn't dare move or look in the mirror. I stayed beneath the covers hoping it would go away. Eventually it did. But this went on for two weeks every single night. I was beyond frustrated now.

It was Thursday night when again I heard the tapping. As I layed there trying to ignore it something new caught my ear. Whistling. That same song from the first morning.

I closed my eyes not daring to look at the mirror and ran into Allistor's room and jumped on top of him. He was beyond angry and yelling but I just hid beneath the covers more. I wanted the tapping to stop. I never wanted to hear that whistling again but I wasn't sure if it ever would.

"Go back to your own room!" Allistor yelled. I hung onto his arm and shook my head violently. Eventually he carried me, by the back of my shirt might I add, into my brother Aaron's room. I didn't sleep though, I was too scared to look over to the mirror on his closet door.

The next morning I asked Allistor if he could get rid of my mirror. "If I have to put up with seeing you everyday then so do you," was his only response.

That night I was in my own bed and a sweet scent filled my room. It smelled like someone was baking a cake. I could faintly hear the sound of whistling and the sound of squeaking before it stopped all together. I woke up the next morning with a cupcake with blue frosting and pink sprinkles by my mirror. The mirror had frosting on it and read "Open up soon, love."


	3. Chapter 3

"Arthur I don't have the time for your pranks," Allistor said as he looked at the mirror with frosting and cupcake. "I'm not joking Allistor. I keep hearing tapping and whistling coming from the mirror. Why won't you believe me?" I was beyond frustrated with my brothers now. Not one believed me and left my room. "I have to go to work soon. Get ready for school, all of you," Allistor said walking towards the kitchen. I groaned before quickly dressing and leaving for school that day.

For those of you wondering, Allistor wasn't the oldest brother. He was the second oldest with me being the youngest and Dylan being two years older than me. Aaron was the oldest but he went college. Allistor was kicked out of highschool and he never graduated. After our parents died he was the one to get a job to pay for everything. He refused to let Aaron drop out of college, or any of us for that matter. He was the scariest though, with his bright red hair, strong green eyes and a heavy Scottish accent that only appeared when he was angry or yelling.

Anyways I went to school that day and told my friend Kiku about the situation. Kiku was about the only person I ever trusted. He wasn't one to judge and didn't go around telling gossip. I considered Kiku my only friend, atleast the only one after Alfred's incident. He told me perhaps I was just loosing sleep or that my medication may be affecting me. Yes, medication. After Alfred's dissapeance, Aaron insisted I took medication to relieve me of the stress it caused me. I continued to take it because I would often find myself depressed without them. I agreed and voted to stop taking them.

Strangely enough. That was the last time it happened. I was scared for next three months but the tapping never came. The affects of not taking the pills were drastic at first and I was often too tired too even leave home but I pulled through it. I spent a peaceful four years and thought it was all finally over. That was until the beginning of my junior year in highschool.

It was when I saw him. I was walking to class with Kiku when I almost ran into another person. I'll admit, if Kiku was not there I would have ran my loud mouth, but I'm glad I didn't. At first I thought it was Lovino, the loud mouthed Italian that was brother's with the cheerful Feliciano. Upon closer inspection, he looked more like Feliciano but with a slightly darker skin color and his hair was slightly redder than Lovino's. He scowled harshly at me as Kiku quickly apologized. Though the scowl seemed about right, the eyes were off. Instead of the harsh green eyes Lovino had, this one had magenta colored ones and he exposed more teeth than Lovino did when he frowned. I muttered a sorry and walked away with Kiku quickly. When I turned around to look at him again he was gone.

We were in the middle of class when we were all ordered to leave the school. We were trampled as everyone ran down the halls trying to get out. The police were there and parents were too. Dylan had to pick me up from school that day. It was later reported that a single student killed an entire class all on his own with only a small knife. The very same one I almost ran into in the hall. The school was shut down for a week and I had to stay home alone during the mornings.


	4. Chapter 4

I was alone at home during that week. Those mornings I often woke up to a sweet scent and I always seemed to have a song stuck in my head. I often hummed it as I went about my morning while my brothers were at school or work. I thought nothing of it until the final night. I went to bed not wanting to go back to school. I woke up that night with the same song stuck in my head.

It wasn't until I sat up in bed that I realized it wasn't in my head. Someone was humming the song. I looked around before my eyes fell onto my mirror. My breathing stopped and I froze in fear. My mirror was glitching, kind of like a video game glitch. I opened my mouth to call my brother but nothing came out. The mirror stopped glitching and looked normal.

I stupidly stood and walked over to it to make sure everything was fine. Sure enough I saw my own reflection staring at me, mimicking my every move. A small red spot on the mirror caught my attention. I bent over to get a closer look as I tried to rub it off. My eyes glared at the spot as it wouldn't come off before something else caught my attention.

The way my finger was reflected onto the mirror was off. When you touch a mirror, there should be a gap between your finger and reflection, but it wasn't there. My eyes moved up and I regretted it almost instantly. I saw my face mimicking my surprised expression but this was far different from my face.

Instead of my sharp green eyes, I saw big soft blue ones. My hair seemed lighter with a shade of pink and there were freckles all over my face. I slowly reached up to feel the freckles on my own face as the image in front of me mimicked me exactly. The reflection gave a surprised look before giving off a smile.

My stomach turned as the person on the other end slowly waved at me with a friendly smile. He began to point at the mirror with pleading eyes. I shook my head in confusion and watched the other figure sigh before the mirror began to glitch again. I watched the other figure leave completely, leaving me with my real reflection.

I ran into Allistor's room and jumped on his bed, earning an earful like old times. Eventually I was sent into my own room because I was too old to go into my other brothers' rooms. I didn't sleep much after that. However the tapping came back. Every night I would wake up to the tapping and I would always hide beneath my blanket to avoid seeing the other person.

I started loosing alot of sleep so that's why when I looked at my reflection, I could have sworn it was just my mind playing tricks on me. It must have been a month after the first incident but when I woke up and went to wash my face, I looked into the mirror and saw my hair was a slight shade of pink. I blinked and tried to comprehend what I was seeing. Deciding I was too tired to think I just went up to my brother Aaron who was passing by. When I asked him what color my hair was he just looked at me surprised before giving a small smile. "It's blonde, just like Dylan's. Don't worry it looks fine," he said before walking away. I just sighed and went back into the bathroom. My hair was back to blonde so I just shrugged it off and went to school.

Leave it to Kiku to realize something was wrong. When he asked I just told him I was loosing sleep. I told him it was just a phase of insomnia, that it would pass soon, and he only nodded. I didn't want to worry him. However as the day went by I started to see more changes in my self. I often saw my reflection with pink hair more often and sometimes my eyes would appear blue. My skin paled in the next few days making the bags under my eyes more noticeable and my weight was dropping.

"Arthur. What's wrong with you?" Allistor asked one day as I was going sitting at the dinner table, falling asleep. I told him I was only tired and they all looked at me suspiciously. Aaron asked if I was sick and I told him no. I gave up trying to make these three believe me, so I just lied now. "Perhaps we should take you to see a doctor. You don't look well," Dylan said. Aaron agreed and Allistor got angry when I told him I didn't need one.

I wasn't allowed to go to school the next day while Aaron took me to see a doctor. I only stared out the car window silently until the familiar building came into view. When I asked Aaron why we were he here he only gave me a worried look. "You need to see her again, Arthur. You need real help," he said as he pulled me into my old therapist's office.


	5. Chapter 5

"Arthur, it's been awhile. You've grown so much." My therapist was a young blonde woman with a sweet Belgian accent and a cat like smile that made her look a bit mischievous at times. She was nice and very professional, I took an instant liking to her because she actually listened to me.

"Yes, it has been. I didn't think I would have to come back," I told her. "How rude of you. If you didn't want to see me then you shouldn't have come," she teased. "Mrs. Bella I am always happy to see you." She laughs and pulls out a clipboard. "So how have you been? You've grown handsome but you look stressed. What's going on?" I told her I was just loosing sleep due to insomnia and my brothers got worried. She looked at me suspiciously though.

"I see. Well your brother Aaron said you've been having hallucinations for a while now. How long has that been going on?" I told her I began to get the hallucinations after Alfred's incident. That I had thought it was the medication so I stopped taking them. I told her they went away up until a month ago.

"Can you tell me what you have been experiencing?" I told her that I keep hearing whistling and tapping on my mirror every night. I also told her that I often see my reflection with pink hair and blue eyes. She nodded and looked me dead in the eye.

"Listen, Arthur. I really really _really_ shouldn't tell you this but, I like you. You have been seeing me since you were young for many reasons. I can still remember your mother bringing you for talking about your fairy friends," she said with a soft smile before turning serious again. "I spoke with two brothers two years ago. They were twins and they didn't get along so well so their grandfather brought them in. After their grandfather died they began to experience something very similar to you. This went on for three months until they stopped showing up. I didn't see them again until something in the news caught my attention."

I was now listening intently. I was sure I knew who she was talking about. "It was said that after the school incident, the two brothers disappeared. The same thing happened to another boy I spoke too years ago. Little shy Matthieu used to say someone banged on his closet door. I want you to keep your brothers close and don't stop coming. I'm worried about you right now, Arthur."

I admit I was thrown off. I didn't know what to say or even think. All of those kids disappeared after what I went through. Was I going to disappear too? I began to wonder, did Alfred also hear tapping on his window. Before I left she gave me a notebook. She told me to write everytime something happened. She told Aaron I was too meet with her Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.

...

We were at home and I could hear my brothers talking in the living room. "She said he's going through another phase so we have to keep an eye on him all the time. She said if there wasn't any progress in the next two weeks that she would prescribe medication." "That medication is too expensive. Are you sure she isn't just trying to get our money?" Dylan asked. "It is expensive but if he needs it then we buy it. You've seen how bad he's gotten," Aaron defended.

"This is ridiculous. He was fine without the pills. He doesn't need them, they just make him feel worse," Dylan said. "Aye, that's true." Allistor said. "But guys, Arthur is hallucinating. Either he's doing some really good drugs or something is really wrong with him," Aaron said again. "Let's face it, he wasn't exactly right there ever since he was a kid. Maybe something really is wrong with him." The rest stayed quiet.

...

I admit, ever since I was a kid, I was the odd one out. I used to be friends with fairies and a unicorn. Everyone thought it was just an imaginary phase that I would grow out of, but I never did. I was seven when my mother took me to see a therapist about it.

Bella claimed it may be due to a lack of friends, that I just came up with the idea that I had imaginary magical friends. Even so I was given medication. I stopped seeing my friends though and was even able to make a friend when I was nine and in the fourth grade. His name was Alfred F Jones and he was one of the most annoying kids I ever met... But he was my only friend.

I stopped taking the medication though after the death of our parents. I was eleven, and seventeen year old Allistor swore to watch over us. Things were tough and though I was depressed, I didn't look like a crazy kid anymore. Unfortunately the next year, Alfred began to act up and soon disappeared all together. That was when Aaron decided to get me on my medication again.

I never realized how much money was put into my medication until I stopped taking it. Aaron was skeptic because of my nightmares but I insited the pills were the cause of it. That was when I noticed Allistor struggled less. He wasn't gone all day and we even had more food. Occasionally Aaron would buy take out for dinner and rent a few movies for us to watch. We even got new clothes, something that was rare for us.

I didn't realize how much my mental problems alone took a toll on my older brothers. That's why now I felt awful about it. I was back to square one, and they would have to buy all my medication again and maybe take extra hours to work. I didn't want to be another struggle for them. Growing up, I always thought they were jerks for the way they treated me but, now I saw how much they had done for me. That night, I didn't want to live and that was a big mistake on my part.


	6. Chapter 6

I went to bed exhausted but no matter how tired I was and how heavy my eyelids felt, I couldn't fall asleep. The only thing I heard for a few hours was the ticking of my clock and my own breathing. I layed that night contemplating if maybe I truly was just crazy. I didn't know what to think anymore. It has always been this way, no matter how much treatment I get, I would never be sane. I was just in the way for my brothers, just a reason to throw away precious time and money on. I honestly thought that ending it was my best bet.

I pushed the blanket off myself and planted my bare feet onto the cold wooden floor. I slowly made my way over to my closet window and sat in front of it with my legs crossed. I gently tapped on it, staring at my own reflection. It didn't take long before my mirror glitched like a screen and the other me appeared. Blue eyes widened before my reflection smiled at me. It waved and I slowly waved back. "Can I ask you a few things?" I asked and the person on the other end nodded, his smile never faltering.

"Who are you?" The person spoke and went on for a bit but no noise came out. "Come again?" I asked leaning closer. Again the person talked but nothing was heard. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you." The person sighed before tapping his chin in thought. It was then that his face lit up and he leaned foward. He breathed onto the glass, fogging it up and writing in neat cursive, ' _Arthur Kirkland_ '. I felt shocked and he quickly erased it before writing again. ' _But you can call me Olive_ r.' I nodded. "So you really are me. Are you from another dimension or something?" I asked and the person nodded again.

I let out a small chuckle from amazement. Perhaps I was crazy, but being crazy was an amazing experience. After all, I was talking to my own self from another dimension. It was like out of a sci-fi movie. "What am I like in your world? What do I like to do?" I asked excitedly. The pink haired me smiled and pulled out a tray of cupcakes frosted with pink icing and blue sprinkles. "I can bake? That's amazing, so you're the one leaving those sweets behind," I said and the other nodded.

"Do I have brothers in that world too?" I asked gaining another cheerful nod. "I do? What are they like?" I watched as 'Oliver' held up a cupcake and smiled brightly. "Colorful?" I asked confused. Oliver laughed and shook his head before holding the cupcake out again. "Oh, sweet!" He nodded, making his wavy pink hair bouncy slightly. "Wow. Can I tell you something?" Oliver nodded and sat closer.

"My brothers in this world, well I used to always think they were jerks. They always bullied me and called me names, and I grew up hating them. Now, I can see I'm just in their way. They spend so much money on me for my medication because everyone thinks I'm crazy. Can you believe that? I'm crazy," I said clearly upset. I looked to my other self who sat with a frown. He fogged up the glass again and wrote, ' _You're not the crazy one, Arthur._ ' I smiled and nodded. "That's right, I'm not. I probably just have an opened third eye so I can see what others can't!" I explained making the other nod and clap with a large smile.

He stopped and began to point at the mirror. "What is it?" I asked. He again wrote on the glass. _'Can you open it? I don't like being here_.' I gave a confused look. "I don't think I can open it. Besides why would you want to come out here? Your place sounds so much better, I think I would rather be there," I said ignorantly. Oliver nodded excitedly. He pointed to himself before pointing at me and repeating it. "You want to switch places?" I asked gaining eager nods.

"Is that okay with you? I can really go?" I asked. The person nodded before looking up and fading away, leaving me with my real reflection. "Hey, where did you go?" I asked tapping the mirror. "Arthur?" I looked up to see Allistor standing behind me from the mirror reflection. I quickly turned back and was met with a worried look.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He asked. "I was talking to Oliver," I answered gaining a strange expression I couldn't read exactly. "What? Who's Oliver?" He asked. It was then I realized my predicament and slowly shrank. If I explained that Oliver was me from another dimension who talked to me through my mirror, he would think I'm crazy. Then I would surely be put back on those pills and it cost him plenty. I was supposed to be acting sane, not proving that I was mentally not right.

"N-noone," I replied softly. He raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue. "Why are you awake anyways?" "I couldn't sleep," I replied before standing. "I'll go to bed right now. Sorry for waking you," I said making my way to bed. I sat down and pulled the covers on and shrank as he continued to stare at me.

He sighed and climbed onto my bed, sitting so he was facing me. "Look, I know we ain't been good to ya growing up, but we're here now. If something is bothering ye, it's fine to tell us." My eyes widened as I looked at him. "I dun' know what yer going through but I'm worried. Dylan's worried too and Aaron is fucking pissing himself. We want ye to get better so we will pay any price. If the damn pills help than we'll get 'em for ye, don't think yer being a bother. You're our wee baby brother, we want you to be happy. I dun' think yer crazy, but there's something not right and we are gunna help you, okay?"

I nodded, amazed at what I was hearing. Never had I ever thought I'd hear Allistor say something like that. I never thought he would care or admit to being worried about me. "Do you really think I'm not crazy?" I asked as I fumbled with the blanket. "Aye. Dun' ye worry 'bout it," he said ruffling my hair. I nodded, my lips twitching into a small smile. "Now go to sleep," he said climbing off my bed. "Wait. Can I sleep with you tonight?" I asked. He turned with an irritated look. "What are ye, a little girl? Sleep in your own room I ain't gonna spoil you that much," he said scowling at me.

I gave a frown and he sighed. "Fine, but you better sleep," he said turning back around. I quickly jumped out of bed and followed him out. I took one final peek to my mirror and left, following Allistor into his room and climbing into his bed. I fell asleep and woke up some point at night, feeling Allistor gently stroking my hair. I pretended I was still asleep, enjoying the soft attention I was getting before falling asleep again.

I woke up the next morning cold and turned to see Allistor already gone from the bed. I slowly got up and trudged to my own room to get my uniform. I looked at my closet mirror subconsciously and turned away before my eyes shot back and widened. I blinked multiple times and grabbed at my hair. I let them fall to my face and rubbed it hard before looking back at the mirror. I reached over and tapped it before my eyes noticed my hands. I inspected them curiously before I realized this wasn't like other times. This wasn't just my reflection nor just my mind playing tricks on me.

I tried to scratch the freckles off my hand and arms until my skin was red and bleeding. I hissed and looked back at the mirror hoping to see a change but no. My hair was still wavy and a light pink color. My eyes were blue and my skin was slightly paler and I was covered in freckles. I screamed and the door busted open showing Allistor and Aaron before Dylan soon joined them. I looked at them crying and they looked at me horrified. Dylan's eyes were wide and Aaron had his hands over his mouth. "Arthur, what the fuck happened?" Allistor yelled coming up to me. "I don't know. It won't go away, the freckles don't go away!" I yelled as Allistor looked at me confused.

"Arthur what are you talking about? What freckles? What did you do to your arms?" Allistor asked taking my wrist and looking at the bloody scratches. I looked back at the mirror and my eyes widened. No more freckles. No more pink and no more blue. This wasn't happening. I surely looked crazy now. "Why are you just standing there? Get the first aid kit!" Allistor yelled and Dylan quickly ran out. "Arthur," Aaron said softly. "I'm not crazy!" I yelled, tears spilling from my eyes. Both Aaron's and Allistor's eyes widened and they stared at me. "I'm not! I don't want to go back. I don't want to take the pills, I don't want to see him anymore," I said collapsing on the floor. "Arthur. Please just calm down," Aaron said before Dylan ran back with the first aid kit. I continued to sob while Allistor cleaned my arms and wrapped them.

"Arthur," he said quietly. "What happened?" His voice was trembling and I looked up to see him looking terrified. "Who were you talking to last night? Who the fuck is Oliver and tell me why the fuck you were hurting yourself _this_ bad," he yelled standing back up. "If I tell you than you'll think I'm crazy," I said quietly. "Arthur, look at me." I turned to see Dylan crouching beside me with a serious face. "Arthur you are crazy," he said bluntly. "Dylan!" Aaron yelled as Allistor scowled at him. "No! He has to hear this!" He yelled staring at me. "Arthur, you're crazy," he repeated as my eyes widened in shock. "You're fucking mental and you have to accept this already so we can take the next damn step already," he said sternly. "We all have to accept it. He's crazy and he always has been!" We all looked down guiltily. It's true, we've always known it, we were just avoiding it as long as we could. We were acting as if it would just pass. If we ignored it long enough, it would go away but it's only gotten worse.

"The question now is, what are we going to do about it?" We looked at Dylan who was looking at us with expectation. "We help him," Aaron said. "Aye. We're brothers so we're going to help ye, Artie," Allistor said. I nodded before crying again. I felt arms wrap around me and I looked up to see Dylan hugging me. It didn't take long until Aaron and Allistor joined in too. "We're going to help you, Arthur. I promise," Aaron said and I truly believed it. I believed that things were going to change.


	7. Chapter 7

I will never forget this particular Thursday. Thanks to a lot of stress at home I was put back on medication. While I still heard tapping on my mirror and my reflection still had pink hair at times, I wasn't conversing with Oliver anymore nor was I trying to rip my skin off.

School had just ended and I was on my way to see Bella, my therapist. My journal was now full of small entries and she said she had a surprise for me that day. Of course, a surprise from Bella meant I was in for a real treat. Last time she told me that, she brought waffles she had made herself. Seriously, that woman is the best and divorced. Too bad Aaron isn't interested.

Anyways I walked along until a loud voice caught my attention. "Matt, what the hell is wrong with you?" I'm normally not a nosy person but something about the voice intrigued me. I peaked into the alley and looked at the two large teens standing there.

My eyes widened when I realized that I had seen them before. "You got blood all over my shoes!" The one with dark hair I had seen so long ago. He still wore the same bomber jacket. Well same style, he grew up, you know how it is. He also had blood splattered over his clothes and he had an angry scowl as he raised the bat up to his shoulder. It had rusty nails poking out with blood stains on it.

He went on rambling and something made me uncomfortable about him. Perhaps it was because he looked sort of like Alfred, if Alfred had a darker side to him. Or, you know because he was holding a bloody bat, either works.

"God! Al, just shut the fuck up!" Another voice joined in and I leaned forward until I caught full sight of the blonde next to him. The one from school. The one with a hockey stick but his hair was longer now and tied back. He wore sunglasses over his head and an open red flannel with yet again... A hockey stick.

I silently took out my phone and turned the camera on. That guy looked too much like Alfred and his name was too much to be a coincidence. Something was off and I had to get a picture. I clicked the button and felt my heart stop when the shutter sound went off loudly.

I ducked when the two stopped arguing and turned around. I quickly crawled as far as I could from there and began to run out of sight. I didn't want to be their next victim.

...

I had made it to the office tired from running and was quickly put into the room while I waited for Ms. Bella. She smiled at me when she walked in with a small box. "I brought chocolate. Have some." I silently took a piece and thanked her, nibbling on it as I tried to calm down.

"Are you okay?" She asked watching me. I explained to her the event I just had and she gave a worried look. "I don't know, Ms. Bella. Something about that guy just screams Alfred." She nodded and scribbled something on her clipboard. She bit on her pen as she sat glaring at her notepad and for a second I wondered if I had said too much.

"I-I took a picture. Maybe you can look at it?" I said and her eyes shot up at me quickly. She took my phone and inspected the picture. She stared at it for a while before putting a hand over her mouth. "What? Do you know them?" I asked. "The blonde boy. Did you hear his name?" I thought before snapping my fingers. "Matt!" I watched her expression turn to horrified and she ran to her book shelf.

She began to yank different books out, dropping them on the floor as she did so until pulling out a small red notebook. She walked over and sat down, placing the notebook down that had a red maple leaf on the cover page. She hesitated to open the book and sighed before putting her face in her hands.

When I asked her if she was okay she shook her head. "Arthur I want you to stay here until your brother comes to pick you up," she said as she stood. I nodded and she sighed as she pulled out her phone. "I'll call him and I need to make another phone call so please excuse me." And she left the room.

...

I was sitting on the chair playing on my own phone, occasionally looking at the red notebook sitting on her desk. She had looked so stressed and I became curious. I wanted to look at what was inside but something told me I was better off not knowing.

The door swung open and Bella walked in with man. "I called your brother, sweetie. He'll be here in 30 minutes," she said before going to her desk. The man sat and she opened the notebook with a frown before pulling out a paper. She looked at it sadly before giving it to the man. "This boy. Can you maybe draw him at age seventeen?"

The man quickly began to sketch and my curiosity lead me to him. I looked down at the paper as he finished drawing and frowned. "Arthur can we see the picture?" She asked and I pulled my phone out again. We compared my photo to the drawing and there were too many similarities.

Though the drawing made him look smaller and thinner with a softer face, it was no doubt the same person. Bella sniffled and I looked up at her worriedly. The man left and she looked at me. "Arthur, sit down." I sat and I have to admit, I felt scared. I had never seen her like this and it scared me. She gave me the paper and I took it, revealing a small boy, perhaps age eleven. He was smiling sweetly and holding a large stuffed white bear while sitting on a man's lap.

"This boy is Matthieu Williams," she said and I nodded. I didn't understand. The boy was sweet, had problems and turned to a deliquent was my guess. It had nothing to do with me was what I thought. "He was a sweet boy and he used to come to me for therapy." I nodded again not understand why I had to know. I figured she was just venting and I went with it.

"His father Francis was a nice man. The two had a great relationship with each other. When Matthieu was ten, his father brought him because he was having trouble trying to make friends. He said he would always sit alone in the house talking to his bear," she said smiling. I smiled remembering my fairy friends. "When he turned eleven, he began to have problems," she said uncomfortably.

"You see, Matthieu began to talk to not only his bear but his closet door. Francis said he would always wake up at night and find him sitting in front of the mirror talking to himself, sometimes even crying." I now realized what this was about. "This went on for a year and he began to change so much. This picture was taken a year after that one," she said handing me another photo.

Indeed I saw the difference. His once bright smile was now a frown and he sat looking down with his shoulders slumped. His skin was ghostly pale and he hard large bags under his eyes that were easily visible even with the growing hair in his face. "What happened to him?" I asked and she gave such a sad expression.

"He began to grow even more distant than usual and his father said that he would wake up at night to screaming and banging. That he would find him curled into the sheets. He did everything he could for his son. Five years ago he went missing. Just disappeared, noone ever saw him again." Bella sniffled and wiped her tears as she picked up the notebook.

"His father was so depressed after that. One day he came in and dropped this off. He told me that maybe I could find a use for it and he left. That same day he was found hanged in his own house." I felt mortified. "But the boy is okay. I saw him, he's right here in the picture, he's still alive," I said in hopes to prove something. I felt in danger for some reason and I wanted to prove that I would be okay. She sighed and handed me the notebook instead.

"I think you should you read this. Let your brothers go over it too. I really want you safe Arthur. Please only stop coming when you know you are safe." I shakily took the notebook and studied the cover. On the bottom I could read the title scribbled on it. ' _Matthieu William's Journal_.' The book felt like fire to my fingers. I wanted to throw it away and tell her I didn't need it. That I wasn't crazy and that I wouldn't go berserk like Matthieu did.

Matthieu was alive and well. Psycho maybe, but he was alive. Nothing was going to happen to me, right? But I still clutched the book like it was my only guide to safety. My only escape from my own head. The phone rang and she picked up. She sent me off with a hug and chocolates. She made me promise that I would come in next week and I only nodded. I watched her talk to Aaron and give him a small notebook before we both left.

It was silent as we drove home. We walked in to find Allistor was still working and Dylan had fallen asleep on the couch. I was scared to open the book. I didn't want to know what was written. I was scared to look inside the mind of another crazy person. I turned to see Aaron reading the book with deep concentration as he cooked. He would occasionally get so into the book that he would forget about the food until it was sizzling loudly. I wondered what book was given to him but I was scared to find out. Fear was my only emotion at the time and I could feel the hands of insanity trying to push the front cover open to pull me into its world.


	8. Chapter 8

- _Day one_ -

Hello. My name is Matthieu Williams and I am almost eleven years old. My therapist Bella said I should start a journal. I don't know what to write though. Papa told me to write it like a diary, so here I am.

Today Papa and I went to get icecream. Kumajiro made a big mess though. I think that's all we did. Sorry Bella, it's not that great.

\- Matthieu

...

- _Day two_ -

Hello, it's me again. Today at school I said hi to the boy next to me and he said hi back. Thanks to Bella, I feel so much more brave. I think I might actually start making friends soon! Papa was so happy, he made me pancakes for dinner.

\- Matthieu

...

I frowned as I read through a few more entries. This poor boy. What happened to him? He seemed so sweet and full of life. What happened to make him turn the corner. I could only imagine what his father must have felt.

I shut the journal and made my way downstairs before hearing my brother Aaron. I peeked into the living room and saw him standing, reading out loud to the other two from the book.

I strained to hear but could only make out,

"I fear... Life... He wakes... And screaming...My son... Not okay."

I felt dread and peeked back inside to see them all frowning. "Hold on, this could all be fake. It could be like a book he was writing," Allistor said. "No, this is his journal. The earlier pages are just about his daily life and then they switch into this. Something is going on," Aaron said.

"Maybe he's right. It's the same as Arthur," Dylan pointed out. They were all frowning and I wanted nothing more than for all of it to end. I didn't know what was happening. I was scared, and I wanted to run away but I stayed there, frozen against the wall, feeling the tensity of my brothers' silence.

"We need to look into this. I will talk to the therapist but for now, we don't let Arthur out of our sight, okay?" I stood and left into my room, shutting the door and sitting in my desk. I stared at the notebook and picked it up, feeling only pity and fear as I stared at the name scribbled on it. I opened it again and continued to read, despite the protest in my gut.

...

 _-Day twenty-six-_

I feel tired. I didn't sleep much last night. I heard tapping all night. I thought it was a ghost at first but nothing scary happened. The tapping didn't stop for a few hours. I think I'm going to take a nap now. Goodnight.

...

I felt a tint of fear when I read that. It had to be a coincidence. It just had too. I continued reading, so lost in the small entry, that I jumped when a knocking came at my door. The door opened and Dylan peeked his head in.

"I rented movies. Let's go watch them," he said. I nodded and he stayed, looking at me. "How are you feeling?" The question caught me off guard and my first reaction was to lie. "I'm fine." He nodded and left, leaving me alone. I sighed and shut the book, leaving my room to join my brothers down stairs.

I don't remember what movie it was, in fact I wasn't so much even paying attention. All I could remember was being in between Allistor, who had his legs over my lap, and Aaron who held a bowl of popcorn, occasionally passing it to Allistor as the movie went on, Dylan sitting by my feet with his own popcorn.

The movie played in the dark room, illuminating our figures and all I could think about was the mirror on my wall. Now I was sure of one thing. I wasn't crazy at all, and as my brothers fell asleep against me, my mind wandered to the little notebook that sat on my desk, and if Oliver knew that I had the secret of his world.


	9. Chapter 9

_Day forty-two_

 _I made a new friend today. Well, last night. His name is Matt and he lives in my mirror. He was really quiet but he was nice. I hope we can be friends longer._

 _\- Matthieu_

...

I stiffened. I wanted to vomit but nothing came. My mind was racing yet it was blank. He talked to his reflection just as I did.

I realized then that that was my first mistake. That by talking to it, I had started something terrible.

I looked over and found my reflection just the same.

...

 _Day fifty-two_

 _Papa has been worried about me. I haven't really slept much lately. At night, Matt is always tapping until I get up to talk to him. Sometimes we talk until I fall asleep, then Papa has to wake me up for school. I'm not really making friends at school. I feel too tired and fall asleep in class sometimes. Maybe I should stop talking to Matt all the time._

 _-Matthieu_

 _..._

 _Day sixty-four_

 _I'm sad today. Matt got hurt and he looked so scared. He kept telling me to let him through but I didn't know what he was talking about. He started crying and I didn't know what to do. I started crying too until Papa came in. He didn't understand why I was crying even after I told him. I hope Matt was okay._

 _-Matthieu_

...

 _Day sixty-eight_

 _Bella is worried about me. I heard her talking to Papa. She said I was doing so much better until something happened. I don't think she believes me when I tell her about Matt. He's real though. He knocks on my mirror every night. Sometimes I see him during the day too but he doesn't talk._

 _-Matthieu_

...

As the days went by, I found myself always at company. I was never alone at the house and one of my brother's always dropped me off at school while Dylan picked me up.

Kiku was also worried. I told him I was fine, that I was simply back on the medication due to nightmares and he only nodded. He's such a good friend, I only hope nothing happens to him.

I also found myself sleeping in brother's rooms more often. It was strange for someone as old as I to sleep with my elder brothers but I found that the tapping wouldn't happen as often.

I slept more and that was good. Bella even noted me down for improvement but something bothered me. The notebook. I read as often as I could but everytime I did, I realized that this boy was in particularly close to the other being.

He talked to him every night. He even began to note things about the other's life. He often noted that the other being was in danger more than a handful of times.

He says so many times that he wants to help him but he can't. That he can't open the mirror. How does one open it? Should it be opened? I wondered if Oliver was in danger too.

I wondered if the Matt I had seen was really just the reflection. Had Matthieu actually managed to open this gate? If this was true, then where was he?

The real Matthieu. The sweet innocent boy. Did he even exist anymore? The questions were endless and only one person knew. That person was Matt.

...

 _My name is Matthieu Williams. I haven't written in this journal for a long time. I don't think I will anymore. The banging won't stop. I'm crying right now, he's so scared. I want to help him but I can't, I don't know how._

 _They're going to get him if I don't help him. I don't want to watch, I'm scared. I'm hiding beneath my blanket and I want my Papa. I haven't seen him in three days, I just locked myself inside._

 _I'm so sorry Papa. I miss you. I'm sorry I was so mean to you, I was just scared._

 _Please make it stop. It sounds like the mirror is going to break. Please help hi_

 _..._

I stared at the page confused. The rest of the page was torn off. I picked at the ripped corner before turning the page.

The next entry sent chills down my spine. The frantic writing made me want to curl up and hide. Aaron must have noticed me pale and trembling because he immediately turned off the stove and came to me.

I remember him asking me something but no sound came from his mouth. Everything was silent except for a light tapping, coming from the back of my mind.

I turned the pages and found no other entry after that. No other writing, no drawing, nothing. I turned back to the frantic writing. I took it all in.

The writing was sloppy, like from someone who didn't write often, very different from Matthieu.

The page was torn from being stabbed too hard by the pen and there were dirt marks on it. I felt tears come to my eyes and Aaron was now prying my grip off the notebook. He set aside and hugged me as I began to cry.

I didn't know how I felt. I didn't know if I felt sadness or fear. Maybe both. But everything about that last entry was definitely not Matthieu.

...

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry didn't know what to do._

 _I had to do it. I'm sorry. I had to get out. I didn't want to push him._

 _I'm sorry._


	10. Chapter 10

I've been in my room ever since. I can still faintly hear Aaron trying to talk to me through my door. I think Dylan is calling Allistor.

I refuse to look anywhere away from the notebook as I write this now, because for the past hour all I've heard was the familiar. Tap. Tap. Tap.

I don't even know where it's coming from anymore. Whether it's my mirror or head, I don't care anymore.

I just refuse to let it go on. Medication won't make it stop.

I'm sorry Allistor. I'm sorry Aaron. I'm sorry Dylan. I'm sorry Bella. Whether I'm crazy or not, I want it to stop.

Oliver has been knocking on my mirror, or perhaps it's my forgotten sanity.

That sounds more correct. After all, only someone with a poisoned mind would think to do what I'm about to.

I don't know where the real Alfred is. If he truly died or ended up in the other world.

I don't know if Matthieu still lives or not in the other dimension, nor can I tell you what happened to the Vargas brothers.

But I can tell you what happened to me. I was driven by the tapping of a mirror that hung on my closet door.

A mirror that held either insanity or a different world. No matter which it held though, I refuse to let it continue tapping.

This is goodbye.

My name was Arthur Kirkland, and I found myself in a very strange predicament. But I have the best solution.

...

Arthur closed the journal and stood from his desk, ignoring the voices from his door. He approached the mirror and stared at Oliver who had a twisted grin on his face.

"This is goodbye old chap." He said before tearing the mirror off his closet door and throwing it on the floor.

It shattered to hundreds of pieces and he could hear pounding and screaming from his brothers. He watched the remaining board of the mirror move as if someone were underneath it.

He picked up a shard of glass, clutching it tightly in his hand. He took a deep breath and put it up to his neck.

...

By the time Allistor arrived and kicked down the door, they found Arthur laying on the floor already gone. The mirror layed shattered and Arthur clutched a broken piece of glass in his hand full of blood.

...

The following week Allistor picked up the notebook and read through it. He scowled at the writing and went to pick up the red notebook that Arthur had mentioned.

He flipped through it and gave a shaky sigh as tears fell. He closed the red notebook and clutched it tightly, letting his head fall as he took it all in.

...

Aaron went to go see the therapist to talk about Arthur. "Ms. Bella, I was curious. Did Arthur ever mention a red notebook?" He asked. The blonde thought before lighting up.

"Yes. I worked with a young boy a few years back who was depressed. You know the one, Francis. Well his son ended up doing so much better and so his father donated a lot of blank notebooks to me.

"Arthur grew rather fond of a red one I had so I let him keep it. He said it was going to be kept as a diary." Aaron nodded, feeling himself tear up. "Okay well thank you. For everything," he said standing up.

"No. I'm sorry I wasn't enough help. It's a shame what happened to him," she said. "I brought your book back. Thank you for letting me see it," he said giving Bella back the book.

She took the diary and smiled. "Come back any time. I hope you and your brothers do well," she said. Aaron nodded and left.

...

"What is that?" Dylan asked as he spotted Aaron sitting on Arthur's old desk, clutching something. "A notebook that Arthur was reading," he said. Dylan took it and flipped through the pages.

"Did you say he was reading it?" Dylan asked. Allistor sniffled and nodded. "But... This entire notebook is empty," Dylan said.

"Aye." Allistor replied, tearing up again as he looked back down at the notebook that held Arthur's written story.

(End)

...

 **A:N: I have to admit, despite this story not being very popular, I really liked it. I feel like I wrote something closer to my own style so a lot of my favorite written lines are in this story.**

 **Just an explanation though, Arthur was crazy. It was hinted from the very beginning that it was all fake. Alfred disappeared after his mother was murdered and it made Arthur just completely snap. From there his mind began to warp and create another story where he wasn't crazy and weird stuff was just going on.**

 **The reality of Alfred's disappearance is that his father started to grow crazy (possibly abusive towards the mother) and Alfred noticed it and starts acting up. After his mother is killed it's possible that either his father killed him too or he really did run away and was never found. (You can decide) Alfred does mention someone banging on his mirror but that was a figure of speech referring to his parents harshly hitting sensitive subjects. This is where Arthur got the idea of mirror tapping from.**

 **The tapping does represent reality though and so does the mirror. That's why it only shows Oliver who is meant to be his crazy personality and why he himself can't open it. (Also notice, the cupcakes were a huge hint. How could Oliver pass him cupcakes if the passage is one sided. He really is crazy) Him breaking the mirror is him finally snapping and ends up committing suicide.**

 **The Vargas brothers I planned for them to have more in the story but nothing came up. The north American brothers are also just figment of imagination and it helped when Bella gives him the notebook and tells Aaron about Francis and Matthieu (who was really just depressed) and their situation.**

 **Arthur imagined the rest so Bella never mentioned tapping and even more so you notice that straight from Francis's notebook, he never did mention tapping either.**

 **I know it's complicated but I think my favorite line that really sums up the story is "** **Fear was my only emotion at the time and I could feel the hands of insanity trying to push the front cover open to pull me into its world**."

 **Really iconic because the notebook was empty from the start. Anyways thanks for those who read the story. I had fun writing this.**


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